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Cut three pieces of 3/4" plywood. The first one should be cut half an inch larger than the foot print of the tank. Measure the diagonal across the first piece you have cut. Decide the height you want the stand to be. These two measurements are the dimensions for your next two pieces. Cut a groove from the top center of pieces 1 and 2 halfway through. Turn one piece over and slide the grooves together to make an X. Squeeze the ends toward each other until they match the shape of piece 1. If the groove is too narrow, file or saw off the binding edges. Set piece 1 on top and fasten with wood screws. If you have some scraps of plywood left you can cut triangles to create storage shelves under the tank.
 

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Double_A said:
Check this site out. They have great diy plans just enter your info and it will tell you all you need to know on how to build it and what you need.
http://www.garf.org/index.html On the left hand side of the page just go under DIY Pages, Stand Building.
Many very faulty plans and ideas are in the GARF DIY plans. The stands look as if someone forgot to rotate the design and so unless you switch the dimensions for tank depth and stand height, you get a stand frame that does not put support under the tank. The DIY plywood tank design is even worse.

The calculators and all are great programming, but no one at GARF seems to have caught the proofreading errors which are fatal flaws.
 

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Thanks for pointing that out Mcdaphnia never noticed that! i am getting ready to build a new diy stand useing there planes im happy i didnt start yet LOL i will have to change some stuff around now so it works out.
 

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Double_A said:
Thanks for pointing that out Mcdaphnia never noticed that! i am getting ready to build a new diy stand useing there planes im happy i didnt start yet LOL i will have to change some stuff around now so it works out.
If you do use their calculator, you do have to switch the stand height and depth to make it work. The pieces labeled stand top and bottom are really the stand front and back. The dimension for the plywood top you will have to get by measuring yourself. There is a way to get it out of the program, but the potential confusion is not worth it IMO. There are still a couple missing short boards on the ends of the stand, and you might also make the calculator figure those out, with even more confusion.

Here is a calculator that works.

http://www.idahoreefs.org/Tank/BuildLargeStand_2.asp

It is intended for large tanks so the result may be a little overbuilt for a 33, but it is right. They also have one for small stands, but it has been down when I've tried it. Might be too many trying it, local club website, could be limited bandwidth.
 

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Here is a calculator that works.

http://www.idahoreefs.org/Tank/BuildLargeStand_2.asp

It is intended for large tanks so the result may be a little overbuilt for a 33, but it is right. They also have one for small stands, but it has been down when I've tried it. Might be too many trying it, local club website, could be limited bandwidth.
I just went there and it is awesome. I just wish I was handy enough to do something like that. I'd end up wasting WAY too much wood. And if I tried to get my husband to do it, our whole family would have to endure days, weeks, months. . . who knows how long. . . of an endless stream of obscenities. And I have a 2 year old who is repeating EVERYTHING she hears! Anyway, this site is an awesome place for DIY help for tank stands!

-Cheryl
:D
 
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